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Elections in Virginia |
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The 2025 Virginia gubernatorial election will be held on November 4, 2025, to elect the governor of Virginia. Incumbent Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin is ineligible to run for re-election, as the Constitution of Virginia prohibits the state's governors from serving consecutive terms.
Former U.S. Representative Abigail Spanberger is the Democratic nominee, [1] and Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears is the Republican nominee. If elected, Earle-Sears would become the first black female governor in U.S. history. [2] [3] Both Spanberger and Earle-Sears won their respective parties' nominations unopposed. Whoever wins the general election will be sworn in as the 75th governor of Virginia on January 17, 2026. This is the first gubernatorial election in Virginia in which both major party nominees are female. Virginia is one of 18 states that has never had a female governor. [3]
This is the only Republican-held governorship up for election in 2025. Democrat Kamala Harris won the state in the 2024 presidential election by 5.8%. [4]
Political analysts consider the election as being a popularity indicator of Donald Trump's second presidency in the state. [5] [6] With the exception of 2013 (which saw a strong performance by a third-party candidate), Virginia has elected a governor of the opposite party of the sitting president of the United States in every election since 1977.
Virginia is considered to be a moderately blue state at the federal level, with Kamala Harris carrying Virginia by about six percentage points in the 2024 presidential election, and the last time a Republican won a federal statewide race was in the 2004 presidential election. Democrats control both U.S. Senate seats and the minimum majority in both houses of the Virginia General Assembly. With the May 2025 death of Democratic Representative Gerry Connolly, Virginia's 11th congressional district seat is currently vacant; neither Democrats nor Republicans hold a majority in Virginia's congressional delegation, which as of May 21, 2025, consists of five Democrats, five Republicans, and the vacant seat, which is considered a reliably blue district. [7] However, statewide offices tend to be more competitive as Republicans flipped all three statewide constitutional offices in the 2021 elections, all of which are up for election in 2025. [8] [9] [10]
Donald Trump's efforts to shrink the federal workforce is considered to be a potential issue in the election, given that many federal workers live in Northern Virginia. [11] A July 2025 Virginia Commonwealth University poll found that the most important issues for voters in the campaign were the cost of living (29%), immigration (14%) and abortion (14%). [12]
Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears was initially viewed as the presumptive Republican nominee for governor. [13] After poor initial polling, and growing dissatisfaction with the lieutenant governor in factions of the party, Earle-Sears drew two challengers: former state senator Amanda Chase, and former state delegate Dave LaRock. Both challengers positioned themselves as more loyal to President Donald Trump. [14] [15] Ultimately, neither of them gathered the required signatures to be on the ballot, and Earle-Sears was nominated unopposed. [16]
State senators
Primary campaign finance activity through March 31, 2025 | |||
---|---|---|---|
Candidate | Raised | Spent | Cash on hand |
Winsome Earle-Sears | $5,677,456 | $1,630,867 | $4,046,590 |
Amanda Chase (failed to qualify) | $34,835 | $51,204 | $1,538 |
Dave LaRock (failed to qualify) | $26,874 | $25,813 | $1,060 |
Source: Virginia Public Access Project [25] |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Winsome Earle-Sears | Unopposed | |||
Total votes | — | 100.0 |
Former U.S. representative Abigail Spanberger won the nomination unopposed after her only challenger, former Richmond mayor Levar Stoney, withdrew in April 2024. Stoney, seeking to avoid a complicated primary, decided to instead run for lieutenant governor. U.S. representative Bobby Scott also publicly considered a bid, but did not file a candidacy. [26]
State legislators
State officials
State legislators
Local officials
Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size [a] | Margin of error | Abigail Spanberger | Levar Stoney | Undecided |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Stoney withdraws from the race | ||||||
Public Policy Polling (D) [34] [A] | March 25–26, 2024 | 734 (LV) | — | 44% | 11% | 45% |
Christopher Newport University [35] | January 11–16, 2024 | 1000 (RV) | ± 3.7% | 52% | 8% | 40% |
Primary campaign finance activity through March 31, 2025 | |||
---|---|---|---|
Candidate | Raised | Spent | Cash on hand |
Abigail Spanberger | $16,301,998 | $5,297,212 | $11,004,790 |
Source: Virginia Public Access Project [25] |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Abigail Spanberger | Unopposed | |||
Total votes | — | 100.0 |
In mid-July, Earle-Sears changed campaign managers after trailing Spanberger in fundraising and polling. [36] On August 21, an opponent of Earle-Sears held up a sign outside her speech at an Arlington County School Board meeting stating "Hey Winsome, if trans can't share your bathroom, then Blacks can't share my water fountain", which received widespread attention and was condemned by both Earle-Sears and Spanberger. [37] [38]
There will be at least one televised debate, on October 9 and hosted by Norfolk State University. [39]
No. | Date | Host | Moderator | Link | Republican | Democratic |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Key: P Participant A Absent N Not invited I Invited W Withdrawn | ||||||
Earle-Sears | Spanberger | |||||
1 | October 9, 2025 | WAVY-TV Norfolk State University | TBD | I | I | |
Source | Ranking | As of |
---|---|---|
The Cook Political Report [40] | Lean D (flip) | May 1, 2025 |
Inside Elections [41] | Lean D (flip) | August 28, 2025 |
Sabato's Crystal Ball [42] | Lean D (flip) | April 30, 2025 |
Race to the WH [43] | Likely D (flip) | June 30, 2025 |
State Navigate [44] | Solid D (flip) | August 22, 2025 |
Aggregate polls
Source of poll aggregation | Dates administered | Dates updated | Abigail Spanberger (D) | Winsome Earle-Sears (R) | Other/Undecided [b] | Margin |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
RealClearPolitics [80] | February 26 – August 26, 2025 | August 28, 2025 | 48.2% | 41.4% | 10.4% | Spanberger +6.8% |
Decision Desk HQ [81] | January 6 – August 26, 2025 | August 30, 2025 | 46.3% | 38.4% | 15.3% | Spanberger +7.9% |
Race to the WH [82] | January 6 – August 26, 2025 | August 28, 2025 | 48.8% | 40.9% | 10.3% | Spanberger +7.9% |
Average | 47.8% | 40.2% | 12% | Spanberger +7.6% |
Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size [a] | Margin of error | Winsome Earle-Sears (R) | Abigail Spanberger (D) | Other | Undecided |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
co/efficient (R) [83] | August 23–26, 2025 | 1,025 (LV) | ± 3.1% | 43% | 48% | 3% [c] | 7% |
Roanoke College [84] [85] | August 11–15, 2025 | 702 (LV) | ± 4.3% | 39% | 46% | 1% [d] | 14% |
Wick Insights [86] | July 9–11, 2025 | 1,000 (LV) | ± 3.0% | 40% | 50% | 2% [e] | 8% |
Virginia Commonwealth University [87] | June 19 – July 3, 2025 | 806 (A) | ± 4.7% | 37% | 49% | 2% [f] | 12% |
co/efficient (R) [88] [B] | June 8–10, 2025 | 1,127 (LV) | ± 3.1% | 43% | 46% | 2% [e] | 9% |
Roanoke College [89] [90] | May 12–19, 2025 | 609 (RV) | ± 5.3% | 26% | 43% | 3% [g] | 28% |
Pantheon Insight/HarrisX [91] [C] | May 9–13, 2025 | 1,000 (LV) | ± 3.1% | 48% | 52% | – | – |
45% | 48% | 7% [h] | – | ||||
Cygnal (R) [92] | February 26–28, 2025 | 600 (LV) | ± 4.0% | 40% | 46% | – | 14% |
Roanoke College [93] | February 17–20, 2025 | 690 (RV) | ± 4.7% | 24% | 39% | 4% [i] | 33% |
co/efficient (R) [94] [D] | January 18–20, 2025 | 867 (LV) | ± 3.3% | 40% | 40% | 5% [j] | 15% |
Virginia Commonwealth University [95] | December 18, 2024 – January 15, 2025 | 806 (A) | ± 4.7% | 34% | 44% | 5% [k] | 17% |
Christopher Newport University [96] | January 6–13, 2025 | 806 (RV) | ± 3.6% | 39% | 44% | 6% [l] | 12% |
Emerson College [97] [E] | January 6–8, 2025 | 1,000 (RV) | ± 3.0% | 41% | 42% | 4% [i] | 13% |
Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy [98] | December 15–19, 2024 | 625 (RV) | ± 4.0% | 44% | 47% | – | 9% |
Research America Inc. [99] [F] | September 3–9, 2024 | 1,000 (A) | ± 3.1% | 39% | 39% | 10% [m] | 12% |
co/efficient (R) [100] [B] | September 7–10, 2023 | 834 (LV) | ± 3.4% | 26% | 27% | – | 47% |
Winsome Earle-Sears vs. Bobby Scott
Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Winsome Earle-Sears (R) | Bobby Scott (D) | Undecided |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy [98] | December 15–19, 2024 | 625 (RV) | ± 4.0% | 46% | 44% | 10% |
Jason Miyares vs. Abigail Spanberger
Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size [a] | Margin of error | Jason Miyares (R) | Abigail Spanberger (D) | Undecided |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Research America Inc. [99] [F] | September 3–9, 2024 | 1,000 (A) | ± 3.1% | 39% | 40% | 12% |
co/efficient (R) [100] [B] | September 7–10, 2023 | 834 (LV) | ± 3.4% | 22% | 26% | 52% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Winsome Earle-Sears | ||||
Democratic | Abigail Spanberger | ||||
Write-in | |||||
Total votes | |||||
Turnout | |||||
Registered electors |
Partisan clients
The off-year races are often a bellwether for the national mood a year before the midterms.
"I've supported Abigail since the day she [announced] and she's the candidate out there right now and we're gonna make sure we win this seat", Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said.
Official campaign websites